- U.S.-based aid groups rush to get supplies into storm-battered Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa
- Travelers stuck in Jamaica due to Hurricane Mellissa forced to pay for unwanted extended stay
- Raleigh police officer awaits word from family in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa devastation
- North Carolina’s leaders give insight on the effects of Hurricane Melissa
- ‘We want some answers;’ Whiteville residents demand city response to prevent flooding
Sign explodes from hurricane winds
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. – A neon sign was no match for Hurricane strength winds.
Video shows the sign torn apart as Hurricane Florence made landfall in Jacksonville, North Carolina Friday morning.
The storm was downgraded to a category one Thursday evening, but is still packing winds of at least 85 miles per hour.
At 11 a.m., Florence was centered about 20 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Wilmington, North Carolina, and about 55 miles (90 kilometers) east-northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was crawling west-southwest at 3 mph (6kph), lifting huge amounts of ocean moisture and dumping it far from the coast.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 195 miles (315 km).